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Jeromy Farkas

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Jeromy Farkas
City of Calgary Councillor
In office
2017–2021
Preceded byBrian Pincott
Succeeded byKourtney Branagan
ConstituencyWard 11
Personal details
Born1986
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political partyUnited Conservative Party
Other political
affiliations		Wildrose Party (former)
Residence(s)Calgary, Alberta
Alma materUniversity of Calgary
WebsiteOfficial website

Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian fundraiser,[1][2] filmmaker,[3] athlete, columnist,[4][5] and former politician. He was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election to represent Ward 11 for a four-year term.[6]

Farkas is the first and only Calgary City Councillor known to have declined the municipal pension and transition allowance. Following his term, the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation estimated that these rejected entitlements saved Calgarian taxpayers $308,234.[7][8] In contrast, Farkas also violated the City of Calgary's code of conduct by posting untrue information to his Facebook page, saying that Council was due for a pay increase when the rest of Council voted to freeze their pay.[9]

He ran as a candidate for Calgary mayor in the 2021 municipal election on October 18, 2021,[6] placing second to Jyoti Gondek.[10] He was accused of using taxpayer dollars to run for mayor when he distributed flyers outside of his ward.[11]

Early life and education

[edit]

Farkas was born and raised in the southeast Calgarian neighbourhood of Dover. His father left communist Hungary in 1956[12] and settled in Calgary.[13]

After graduating from Calgary's Bishop Carroll High School, Farkas achieved a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Calgary, where he worked as the Executive Administrator for the Israel Studies Program and as a Research Team Lead in the Faculty of Medicine.[14]

From 2013 to 2016, Farkas served as a senior fellow specializing in municipal governance at the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education. He was the project lead for the Council Tracker project and website, analyzing data on Council votes to make municipal government more accessible.[15][16] Farkas expanded the project to other cities throughout Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton.[17]

In 2015, Farkas' team earned first place in the City of Calgary Hackathon, a three-day contest in programming, business modeling and research to create technology-based solutions to improve the lives of Calgarians.[18] Prior to entering politics, he was a regular Calgary Herald columnist writing about local municipal issues,[19] particularly city council.[20]

Political career

[edit]

Formerly president of the Wildrose Party's constituency association in Calgary-Elbow,[21] Farkas identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and social liberal.[22] He describes his political views as being motivated by an attitude that "you should have the biggest say in how you live your life... chasing, again, the best solutions rather than the ones based in ideology," and has been active in issues such as wildlife conservation and human rights activism.[22] He is openly bisexual, which made him Calgary's first openly LGBTQ male city councillor,[23] and played a key role in pushing the Wildrose Party to adopt a more progressive position on LGBTQ issues.[21]

Calgary City Council

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From 2017 to 2021, Farkas was the Calgary City Councillor for Ward 11, comprising the neighbourhoods of Acadia, Bayview, Bel-Aire, Braeside, Britannia, Cedarbrae, CFB Currie, CFB Lincoln Park PMQ, Chinook Park, Eagle Ridge, Elbow Park (part), Elboya, Haysboro, Kelvin Grove, Kingsland, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Mission, North Glenmore Park, Oakridge, Palliser, Parkhill/Stanley Park, Pump Hill, Rideau Park, Roxboro, Rutland Park, Southwood, Willow Park and Windsor Park. Prior to his term, Farkas served on the executive for the Palliser, Bay View, Pump Hill community association.[24]

Throughout his term, Farkas held monthly town hall events during which he answered questions from his constituents and supporters.[25][26] When the COVID-19 pandemic rendered such events unsafe, he compensated by hosting weekly Facebook Live sessions.[27] He engaged in Council debate on issues such as restricting public transit options,[28] the Midfield trailer park's closure,[29] council compensation and parental leave,[30] the Calgary Green Line,[31] the City of Calgary summer student hiring program,[32] business tax relief,[33] public art,[34] council time spent in closed-door meetings,[35] crime and safety,[36] the failed 2026 Calgary Olympic Bid,[37] and the arena deal.[38]

2021 Mayoral campaign

[edit]

On September 16, 2020, Farkas announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2021 Calgary municipal election.[6]

Farkas' ten-point platform included a four-year property tax freeze, support for the Calgary Police Service,[39][40] reform to the Council pension plan, support for single-family neighbourhood zoning, improvements to traffic-light synchronization, reduction of Council time spent behind closed doors, the construction of a rail connection between the inner-city and Calgary International Airport, improved snow removal, opposition to selling city parks, and reduction of business red tape.[41]

On October 18, 2021, Farkas placed second to Ward 3 councillor Jyoti Gondek.[10]

2023 Alberta election

[edit]

On December 1, 2022, Farkas announced that he would not stand as a candidate in the 2023 Alberta general election. In the weeks leading up to the election, he served as a commentator alongside former City Council colleague Naheed Nenshi as part of CBC Calgary's provincial political panel.[42]

On May 17, 2023, Farkas denounced a United Conservative Party candidate Jennifer Johnson who compared transgender children in schools to having feces in food,[43] citing such views as "dangerous and unfit for [elected] office."[44]

Community fundraising

[edit]

Jeromy’s Big Run

[edit]

On March 3, 2022, Farkas announced that he was “running again” through a fundraising partnership with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. He set a goal of completing the Pacific Crest Trail in as close to 100 days as possible to raise funds in support of youth mentorship.[45]

On March 12, 2022, he began the 4,260-kilometre (2,650 mi) journey with only what he could carry in his backpack, making occasional visits to small towns for food. Within days, he met the $50,000 goal.[46]

Over the next several months, Farkas posted regular social media updates with highlights such as his summit of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. He met and raised fundraising goals twice more, settling on a final target of $125,000.[47]

Farkas completed the "humbling"[48] journey in 168 days, returning home on August 30, 2022. He said he was given the nickname “Pathfinder” on the trails because he opted to use paper maps instead of his phone to navigate the trails.[49]

As of January 21, 2023, the campaign had raised more than $250,000, becoming the biggest fundraiser in the history of BBBS Calgary.[50]

Jeromy's Big Climb

[edit]

On January 10, 2023, Farkas announced a follow-up fundraiser to scale "25 Peaks in 25 Days" to raise $25,000 in support of The Alex Community Health Centre in Calgary, with the funds directed to mobile healthcare services for marginalized Calgarians and those experiencing homelessness.[51]

Farkas posted regular social media updates through the campaign, and faced a variety of terrain, bitter cold and other weather hazards. Ultimately, he achieved 58,800 feet (17,900 m) of elevation gain and loss – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level twice – over the course of the 25 peaks.[52]

As of January 30, 2023, "Jeromy's Climb for Public Health" had easily surpassed its initial goal, raising more than $43,000.[53]

Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge

[edit]

On June 7, 2023, Farkas announced that he was challenging Chief Steve Dongworth to a charity challenge as part of the ninth annual Calgary Fire Department Stairclimb Challenge. He met his fundraising goal of $5,000 in under 24 hours, with proceeds going directly to benefit firefighter support programs and assistance to those battling cancer.

On the event day, Farkas equipped full firefighter duty gear for the 57-floor, 1370-step climb up Brookfield Place, the tallest skyscraper in downtown Calgary.[54] He completed the challenge in 17 minutes and 37 seconds, ascending at a rate of more than 3 floors per minute.[55]

On June 9, 2024, he competed once again, raising more than $8,000 and completing the challenge in 17 minutes and 21 seconds.[56]

Electoral record

[edit]
2017 Calgary Municipal Election — Ward 11
Candidate Vote %
Jeromy Farkas 13,170 38.38
Linda Johnson 7,588 22.12
Janet Eremenko 6,890 20.08
Robert Dickinson 4,446 12.96
Keith Simmons 2,214 6.45
Total 34,308 100
2021 Calgary municipal election - Mayor
Candidate Vote %
Jyoti Gondek 174,649 45.13
Jeromy Farkas 115,742 29.91
Jeff Davison 50,279 12.99
Brad Field 19,187 4.96
Jan Damery 8,836 2.28
Grace Yan 2,736 0.71
Zane Novak 1,981 0.51
Dean Hopkins 1,812 0.47
Kevin J. Johnston 1,551 0.40
Zaheed Ali Khan 1,245 0.32
Virginia Stone 1,155 0.30
Shaoli Wang 1,051 0.27
Ian Chiang 965 0.25
Teddy Ogbonna 857 0.22
Emile Gabriel 679 0.18
Zac Hartley 575 0.15
Sunny Singh 570 0.15
James Desautels 527 0.14
Mizanur Rahman 448 0.12
Larry Heather 428 0.11
Stan Waciak 419 0.11
Paul Michael Hallelujah 372 0.10
Adam Roberts 307 0.08
Will Vizor 203 0.05
Geoff Rainey 161 0.04
Randall Kaiser 133 0.03
Cory Lanterman 117 0.03
David Clark (Withdrawn)
Kent Hehr (Withdrawn)
Grant Prior (Withdrawn)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Toombs, Aryn (September 21, 2022). "Jeromy Farkas run for Big Brothers Big Sisters raises nearly $210,000". LiveWire Calgary. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "Farkas surpasses fundraising goal for the Alex Community Health Centre". LiveWire Calgary. January 30, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Krause, Darren (January 27, 2023). "Farkas Pacific Crest Trail finale screens at Calgary cinema". LiveWire Calgary. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  4. ^ "Farkas: Working together as neighbours is the Calgarian way". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "Farkas: We can promote Calgary's western roots and its amazing diversity". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Coun. Jeromy Farkas launches bid for mayor's seat in 2021 Calgary election". CBC. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Taxpayers release Naughty and Nice List". www.taxpayer.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  8. ^ "Jeromy supports ending mayor's double pensions". Jeromy Farkas. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Calgary, Madeline Smith StarMetro (December 17, 2018). "City councillors vote to boot Farkas from meeting over 'untrue' Facebook post". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Jyoti Gondek elected as Calgary's first female mayor". CTV News Calgary. CTV News. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  11. ^ "Jeromy Farkas's push for power". The Sprawl. October 16, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Column: Hungarian Revolution must not be forgotten". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  13. ^ "About Councillor Jeromy Farkas". www.calgary.ca. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Rieger, Sarah (October 9, 2021). "Meet a candidate for mayor: Jeromy Farkas". CBC News. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Fletcher, Robson. "See how Calgary councillors vote on new tracking website from Manning Foundation". Metro News. Calgary. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015.
  16. ^ Farkas, Jeromy. "Growing the Democratic Toolbox: City Council Vote Tracking". Manning Centre for Building Democracy – via Scribd.
  17. ^ Fox, Chris (October 28, 2015). "Councillors in Toronto more likely to vote no than in other cities: think tank". CP24. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  18. ^ "City announces winners of Hackathon 2015". City announces winners of Hackathon 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  19. ^ "Farkas: How to ease congestion in Calgary". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  20. ^ "Farkas: All talk and no leadership on affordable housing". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Local Wildrose official wants party to become champion of LGBTQ issues". Calgary Herald, June 3, 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Jeromy Farkas weighs in on why he left the Wildrose constituency to run for Calgary city council" Archived February 12, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Calgary Journal, December 10, 2016.
  23. ^ "The power and pitfalls of a diverse council"[permanent dead link‍]. Metro, October 18, 2017.
  24. ^ Bird, Kyra (October 6, 2017). "Ward 11 candidates face tough questions at final forum". Calgary Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  25. ^ "Snow clearing and Olympic bid dominate Farkas public forum". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "Town hall attendees want their say before new arena deal". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  27. ^ "Councillor Jeromy Farkas says he will support proposed Calgary bylaw banning conversion therapy". QR Calgary. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  28. ^ "Pro-transit group, councillor trade accusations over southwest BRT". CBC News. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  29. ^ "Councillor's plans for Midfield Mobile Home Park falls flat". CTV Calgary, December 18, 2017.
  30. ^ "Council approves parental leave bylaw, sends to compensation review committee". calgaryherald. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "City council approves Green Line, with conditions to keep it on budget". Calgary Herald. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  32. ^ "Calls to reinstate summer student hiring after city program 'drastically' slashed". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  33. ^ "Farkas dismisses council's tax rescue plan as 'half-baked', says he'll introduce his own". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  34. ^ Tweten, Chad (March 11, 2020). "Arts workers concerned with city's decision to move public art program outside city". Calgary. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  35. ^ "Farkas proposes end to 'excessive use' of closed-door council meetings". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  36. ^ "Guest Opinion: City council is playing with fire by courting the 'abolish police' movement". calgarysun. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  37. ^ "Danielle Smith: Jeromy Farkas raises red flags about Calgary's upcoming Olympics vote - Calgary". QR Calgary. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  38. ^ "Coun. Jeromy Farkas asking residents to weigh in on new arena". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  39. ^ Villani, Mark (November 2, 2020). "'I would rather be fired': Farkas' police commission tenure ends". Calgary. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  40. ^ "Farkas launches petition urging Calgarians to defend our police". Jeromy Farkas. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  41. ^ "Farkas: From snow clearing to taxes, my 10-point plan will bring about real change". calgaryherald. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  42. ^ "Naheed Nenshi and Jeromy Farkas on the latest statement of regret from Premier Danielle Smith".
  43. ^ "Alberta UCP candidate says sorry for comparing transgender students to feces in food". Edmonton. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  44. ^ @JeromyYYC (May 17, 2023). "This candidate has literally described transgender kids as pieces of shit. @ABDanielleSmith encourages unhinged and dangerous people. They'll have leverage and cabinet roles. Conservatives MUST recognize this for what is: dangerous and unfit for ANY office. #yyccc #abpoli" (Tweet). Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  45. ^ "JEROMY FARKAS RUNNING FOR BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CALGARY AND AREA". Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. March 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  46. ^ "Farkas eclipses initial fundraising goal in first days of run from Mexican to Canadian border". Calgary. March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  47. ^ "Jeromy Farkas completes 4,280-kilometre hike of Pacific Crest Trail to fundraise for Big Brothers Big Sisters". calgaryherald. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  48. ^ "Farkas summits tallest peak in continental U.S. as part of Pacific Crest Trail journey". Calgary. May 5, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  49. ^ "Jeromy Farkas completes 4,280-kilometre hike of Pacific Crest Trail to fundraise for Big Brothers Big Sisters". calgaryherald. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  50. ^ Krause, Darren (January 27, 2023). "Farkas Pacific Crest Trail finale screens at Calgary cinema". LiveWire Calgary. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  51. ^ "Jeromy Farkas launches another ambitious fundraiser, planning to scale 25 peaks for health centre". calgaryherald. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  52. ^ "'One bite at a time': Jeromy Farkas wraps 25-peaks-in-25-days charity challenge". calgaryherald. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  53. ^ "'One bite at a time': Jeromy Farkas wraps 25-peaks-in-25-days charity challenge". calgaryherald. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  54. ^ @YYCStairclimb (June 11, 2023). "A huge round of applause to all the brave challengers who gave it their all and pushed their limits in this race. You are all true inspirations! #ChallengeTheChief #yycstairclimb #WinnerAnnouncement @CalgaryPolice @neufeld_mark @WellspringAB @JeromyYYC" (Tweet). Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
  55. ^ "Stairclimb Challenge Race Results".
  56. ^ "Startline Timing - Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge". Startline Timing - Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
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